Introducing Gliph Message Deletion

Gliph is already a great way to send private and secure text messages. Starting today, we’re introducing the ability to permanently delete individual Gliph messages.

Deletion works according to these rules:

  • In any Gliph messaging conversation, either party may permanently delete individual messages at any time.
  • Deleted messages are permanently removed from Gliph.
  • There will be no indicators that a deleted message once existed.

Gliph now supports message deletion in its mobile web application and in the iPhone application (Gliph for iOS version 1.21+). For now, Android users should visit the mobile web app to delete messages.

Craigslist Survey Results: Users Want Privacy, Anonymity

Back in April we built and distributed a survey focused on people’s perspectives about privacy on Craigslist. We were able to get over 100 responses from cities across the United States. We’ve visualized the data into some simple graphs, and included some general conclusions.

Respondents were recruited from Twitter and Facebook, and the data was collected using Survey Monkey. The analysis is based on these graphs only and more data might need to be collected for a more solid conclusion.

If you haven’t tried Gliph yet, we have a beautiful mobile web implementation you can use from this very browser.  And of course, iPhone and Android versions as well. On with the data!

Communicating on Craigslist

1.  What devices do you use to access Craigslist?

What devices do you use to access Craigslist?

Continue reading →

Redesigned Gliph for Mobile Web

Today we’re announcing the availability of the completely redesigned Gliph mobile web application.  In this entry I’m going to go over the advances we’ve made and briefly why mobile web is important to the future of Gliph.

A Bit of History
When Gliph first debuted it was a mobile web application (website) and that’s it.  We worked on it during the winter of 2011 and put our first version online around the start of January.  At the time, it only worked in Mobile Safari and was barely a proof of concept.

Continue reading →

Setting up a First Date Without Using a Phone Number

Getting a phone number from someone you’re interested in has been the crucial bridge between a first meeting and your hope of ever seeing them again. Over time, phone numbers have become mobile, stable (people change their numbers rarely), and offerered the strongest potential for immediate voice communication.

phone number sms imessage dating text txt game

In spite of their historical value, privacy considerations, cost, and availability of more flexible communication methods are weakening the position of phone numbers as the communication mode you are most likely to exchange with new acquaintances.

Let’s take a look at some reasons why exchanging phone numbers as a first contact method is declining and see why Gliph provides a great new alternative. Continue reading →

Gliph Views Get Active in Version 1.2.1

We’re happy to announce the release of version 1.2.1 of the Gliph app for iPhone.  You can download the new version from the the App Store today.

Our previous release for iPhone, focused on additional privacy capabilities.  With 1.2.1, we’ve made shared personal information more accessible and useful.  Here’s how:

New Button in Conversation View
The Conversation view now has a button on the top right of the screen, “View Gliph.”

Previously, you had to go to the Connections tab and then find the contact and then tap on it to see the Gliph View.  Tapping View Gliph makes this much more convenient.

Improved Gliph View
You probably remember that Gliph protects your personal information (Facets) much more carefully than most companies.  Besides keeping both your data and your contacts’ data safe, we also want to make it useful.

The improved Gliph View now lets you take actions based on the personal information that other Gliph users share with you. Continue reading →

Introducing Gliph App Version 1.2, Powerful Privacy for iPhone

Gliph is already a leader in the mobile space for providing users both a policy and user experience that truly protects their privacy.  The new Gliph iPhone app not only includes a refreshed interface, it takes privacy to a whole new level.  These changes are so big that they helped us win the Privacy, Identity, Innovation Conference (Pii2012 Seattle) Innovators Spotlight award two weeks ago.

You can download the Gliph iPhone App in the App Store in a moment, let’s get started!

Gliph app privacy lockdown privacy protection pin protection

 Application Access PIN

This is something we’ve wanted to provide since day one.  This feature allows you to add a four-digit PIN to the Gliph app.

Once you’ve turned the access PIN on, if you exit the app in any way (including putting the phone to sleep) you will have to enter your PIN in order to use the Gliph app again.

This means you have a new layer of protection for your private Gliph conversations and contact information.

We built this for the times when you lend your iPhone to someone to let them take a photo. Or for when you leave your phone at the table with your tipsy friends at the bar and they start poking around in your apps.

If you’re phone is unlocked, people may be able to mess with your Facebook profile or snoop your emails. But with this feature, you can be assured they won’t access your Gliph account in any way via the iPhone app. Continue reading →

Gliph Wins Privacy Identity Innovation, Innovators Choice Award

It was a great honor to be selected for an Innovators Choice Award at the Privacy Identity and Innovation conference in Seattle, Washington.  Pii2012 had some of the foremost authorities on privacy and digital identity in the audience, and was so popular that the event completely sold out.

We went up against eight different companies for the Innovators Spotlight, and while there was some strong competition, none of them quite hit on the specific issues being discussed at the conference:  how do you protect the privacy of user data, how do you offer privacy controls in an enjoyable user experience?  What does the future of digital identity look like?

 

While winning the award was a great validation of the work we’re doing and we’re excited about the people we met as well.  While a privacy conference isn’t exactly “cool” in mainstream news today, you could tell that this niche space is going to be ballooning.

We’d like to give a special thanks to the conference organizer, Natalie Fonseca.  She did an excellent job putting the event together and we are grateful for the opportunity to have participated.  Natalie, you rock!

Gliph on Tour

The Gliph team was on a roadshow throughout March and April, presenting at a variety of conferences and events.  Each event offered an opportunity to tell the Gliph story.  Here’s a quick overview of the two exciting events we participated in:

Seattle Beta

Seattle Beta is a private event organized by Beta Ltd that combines a lively bar atmosphere at Spitfire Grill with startup demos and an audience-choice award.  Twenty companies demonstrated their products, including Gliph.    We were excited to not only walk away with the People’s Choice Award, but also get noticed by Twilio for our demo of Gliph-to-Gliph calling.  You can view our gallery of photos from the event on our Gliph Facebook page.

MIT Enterprise Forum

The MIT Enterprise Forum is an opportunity to showcase your startup in front of investors, other entrepreneurs and influential folks in the Seattle technology scene.  After passing the screening committee in mid-April, Gliph went on to do a live demo on the 26th.  A full-length copy of the demo was recorded on video and is available below.

We ended up taking second place at MIT Enterprise Forum, and meeting a bunch of interesting folks ta-boot.  We’ll probably have more public events where you can meet up with Gliph.  Please keep an eye on our Twitter feed for the heads-up!

Trying to Stay Dry at SXSW

Some unusual weather has struck SXSW, with heavy rain and low 50s temperatures striking throughout the day today.  Our team has been working to handle the unexpected downpours.  We put together this video to show just how bad the weather is and go over what we’re doing.

We are planning to charge smartphones throughout SXSW. Keep an eye on our twitter feed and come by to visit us at:

Gliph Charge Cart
400 N. Congress
Austin, TX 78701